Essentials in cardiac arrest during cesarean section

Successfully conservative management of the uterus in acute pulmonary embolism during cesarean section for placenta previa: a case report from Tu Du Hospital, Vietnam and literature review

BACKGROUND

Cardiopulmonary collapse is a catastrophic event in cesarean section, which leads to adverse outcomes for both the mother and the fetus. Pulmonary embolism is one of the rare etiologies of this entity. We herein reported the successful management of acute embolism pulmonary associated with cesarean delivery on a healthy pregnant woman at our tertiary referral hospital.

CASE PRESENTATION

A full-term pregnant woman hospitalized for planned cesarean delivery due to placenta previa without cardiorespiratory diseases. She was scheduled uneventfully for a planned cesarean section. After placental delivery, the patient spontaneously fell into cardiopulmonary collapse and her vital signs deteriorated rapidly. The obstetricians promptly completed the cesarean section and performed all procedures to prevent the PPH and preserve the uterus. At the same time, the anesthesiologists continued to carry out advanced heart-lung resuscitation in order to control her vital signs. After surgery, the multidisciplinary team assessed the patient and found a thrombus in her pulmonary circulation. Therefore, the patient was managed with therapeutic anticoagulation. The patient recovered in good clinical condition and was discharged after 2 weeks without any complications.

CONCLUSIONS

The diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism is extremely difficult due to uncommon occurrence, sudden onset, and non-specific presentation. Awareness of this life-threatening pathology during cesarean delivery should be raised. Interdisciplinary assessment must be essentially established in this life-threatening condition. After the whole conventional management, uterine conservation may be acceptable where applicable. Further data is required to encourage this finding.

Hypoglycemia as a cause of sudden cardiac arrest during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia: a case report and review of the literature

Background

Sudden cardiac arrest during spinal anesthesia is a rare event. However, its management by an unprepared team is difficult and carries poor outcomes. Hypoglycemia as the cause of sudden cardiac arrest is rarely reported. This case illustrates lifesaving procedures for sudden cardiac arrest secondary to hypoglycemia during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia.

Case summary

We report a case, from rural Ethiopia of sudden cardiac arrest secondary to hypoglycemia during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia. The case was successfully managed by a team of anesthetists and other operating teams. The mother and newborn were discharged from the hospital on the 7th postoperative day.

Conclusion

Hypoglycemia during cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia can cause sudden cardiac arrest. Therefore, identifying patients at risk of developing hypoglycemia, monitoring the patient’s condition, and initiating prompt intervention at the first sign of cardiovascular instability is advisable. Determining serum blood glucose levels at admission to the labor ward and monitoring blood glucose levels during spinal anesthesia should be routine practices.

5-HT3 blockade does not attenuate postspinal blood pressure change in cesarean section: A case-control study

Spinal anesthesia (SpA) for elective caesarean section (CS) is often accompanied by clinically relevant arterial hypotension. The Bezold-Jarisch reflex, causing postspinal hypotension, has been shown to be antagonized by serotonin type 3 (5-HT3) blockade. Our aim was to assess if routine prophylactic administration of the 5-HT3 antagonist ondansetron (ODS) attenuates postspinal change in maternal blood pressure.Elective CS under SpA were retrospectively analyzed. Eighty parturients having routinely received 8 mg ODS prior to SpA were compared with 80 patients having not (control group).Mean arterial blood pressure significantly decreased from baseline to the postspinal period (P < .0001) without differences in blood pressure decreases between the 2 groups. This also applied to the heart rate. Overall use of cafedrine/theodrenaline was higher in the ODS group (0.8 (0.4-1.6) mL vs 0.8 (0-1.0) mL in the control group, P = .01). APGAR values showed a presumably clinically irrelevant decrease in control group compared with the ODS group.Our results suggest that routine administration of ODS in a dosage of 8 mg does not effectively attenuate postspinal change in maternal blood pressure during CS in our setting. Given the wide variability of anesthetic techniques, only large prospective and randomized multicenter trials will ultimately serve to elucidate this issue.